Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Harper Bayliss is about to pay the full price of fame. That is, if her stalker’s plans work out.

Hollywood’s new favourite starlet is already feeling overwhelmed by the insecurity of her past, a family that controls her every move, and the stresses that come with her job when a brutal attack from a madman takes that stress to a whole new level. But what neither Harper nor her attacker saw coming was the 6’4”, heavily muscled ex-Marine, Nick Martell, throwing himself in harm’s way to save her. After she visits him in the hospital to offer her thanks, she can’t help but be intrigued by the man she finds beneath the bad boy exterior.

Plagued by guilt over his failure to protect the one person that mattered the most, all Nick wants is to find some peace. The tattooed former Marine is scarred, inside and out, but saving Harper Bayliss might be his first step toward redemption. What’s more, her answer to his heartfelt question is about to send them both down a path of scorching passion…and maybe even love.

With the pressures of Harper’s fame and Nick’s guilt working against them, will their feelings be enough to overcome all the obstacles, including the stalker that’s still out there? If he gets his way he’ll show them that, even if they choose each other, you seldom get to choose the last thing you see.

The Last Thing You See from USA Today bestselling author Emma South is a New Adult Romance about letting go of the past to find unconditional love in the present.

I'm in my thirties and living in New Zealand. About 2 years ago I lost somebody very close to me. I was lucky in a way, I was given enough time to make a promise. My promise was that I would never forget our young and innocent love, and it's a promise I intend to keep.

My writing is a way to help me keep that promise. I've always enjoyed writing but was forced into being 'prudent' and giving myself over to soul-crushing office work for the sake of a steady salary. Recent events forced me to re-evaluate my priorities and I decided to take a chance. I like to put little pieces of 'us' into my writing, from funny conversations we had, to apocalyptic arguments, to that special feeling you get when you hop into bed fully aware that your feet are freezing but your partner doesn't kick you away.

Even though these things are set in fictional worlds and attached to fictional characters, in a way it feels like I'm doing something that will make our love live forever. If somebody reads one of my stories and likes a joke or sheds a tear, then our love has lived on, and I thank any readers I might have for that.

Blurb
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Gibson returns to Truly, Idaho, and to the fate of sexy SEAL Blake Junger GIMMEE A B-R-E-A-K! Ex-high school cheerleader Natalie Cooper could once shake her pom-poms with the best of them. But she's paid for all that popularity—her husband's run off with what's left of their money and a twenty-year-old bimbo named Tiffany. Leaving Natalie to manage a photo store and having to see some pictures she, well, really shouldn't. GIMMEE A S-H-O-T! Then she comes toe-to-manly chest with Blake Junger. Exiled to a remote cabin in Truly, Idaho, Blake wants nothing to do with anyone. Instead, he's determined to struggle with his demons and win—all on his own. But the last thing he needs is Natalie distracting him with her luscious curves and breaking down the barriers of his heart.
GIMMEE YOUR H-E-A-R-T!
Can be read as a standalone. Returns to Truly, ID and is about the second Junger twin, Blake Junger.

My Review:
The story was good. It was written well and the characters were likable. I know I say that I don't like to much build up but it is needed at times. You do want to feel the connection the characters are building. Even if there is hot sex. Even if they fall for the hot sex first. At some point, you want to experience the...well romance. I'm not feeling like I got that. With that said, I did like the book.

Should you read it? Yes. Who should read it? Romance fans but understand that the romance for true romance lovers (the ones that love half of the book to build up to the relationship) is a bit lacking.

Author Info
Rachel Gibson lives in Idaho with her husband, three kids, two cats and a dog of mysterious origin. She began her fiction career at age 16, when she ran her car into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper, and drove to a parking lot, where she strategically scattered the car’s broken glass all about. She told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit and run and they believed her. She’s been making up stories ever since, although she gets paid better for them nowadays.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Synopsis book 1 - Escapement:
Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.

Trapped in a world of deception, my sanity rests with the love of Ryder Arteres and our renegade friends. Six months of scouring the ocean floor in a rebel ship fleeing our homeland, delivers us to a possible alliance with the opportunistic European Council. Our only hope is to utilize our forbidden gifts to free our people from slavery, proving our worth. But when a trusted ally turns traitor and a new breed of the queen’s weaponry is revealed, I’m forced to face the terror of my past to save our crumbling future.

Synopsis book 3 - Balance:
Life on a war-ravaged Earth is a dying experience. Finally, after years of tyranny, the rebellion rises. Once I rescue my fiancé Ryder Arteres, I, and the rebel general, will fight to free our people. In a war where alliances shift and friends betray one another, will the final battle prove the truth of the prophecy the queen has so feared—her death—or will I lose everyone I love?

My Review:
I am going to an overall impression review. Semara is awaiting her turn to become an official member of the ruling class though her mother is the Queen. The Queen is known for her cruelty and expects the same from Semara. The problem? Princess Semara can't live up to that expectation. Oh and the fact that she has a deadly secret. The secret is the catalyst for the series.

The story is well told. It's interesting, suspenseful, with some twists and turns. The characters are well developed. I thinkyou will enjoy the journey that this series takes you on. There is a new world to get to know. Two extra species of beings to learn about. And a society to rage against. Makes for a pretty good read if you ask me. So I'll leave you to it. Happy reading!

AUTHOR BIO
Ciara Knight writes to ‘Defy the Dark’ with her young adult speculative fiction books. Her most recent Amazon best-seller, Escapement, book I of The Neuamrian Chronicles, released to acclaimed reviews securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from InD’Tale Magazine.
When not writing, she enjoys reading all types of fiction. Some great literary influences in her life include Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Francine Rivers and J K Rowling.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She’s backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*This is an ARC review
**If you would like to support this blog consider purchasing your books through the links provided. Thank you for stopping by, comment, share, and Happy Reading!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

After more
than ten years away, Australian soap opera star Ellie Hughes returns to the
small town of Hope Junction, determined to fly under the radar while caring for
her injured godmother, Matilda.

But word
spreads fast in the tight-knit community. It isn't long before the people of
Hope Junction are gossiping about the real reason for Ellie's visit and why she
broke the heart of golden boy Flynn Quartermaine all those years ago.

Soon Ellie
and Flynn are thrown back together, forced to deal with the unresolved emotions
between them. Because Ellie is not the only one with secrets. Flynn has his own
demons to battle, and Matilda is hiding something from her much-loved
goddaughter.

When all is
uncovered, can the ill-fated lovers overcome the wounds of their past? Or is
Flynn destined to be jilted again?

My Review:This is a book about a second chance with a first love. The road isn't easy but real love rarely is. The plot is predictable for the most part but really after reading so many books there isn't much that can completely surprise an avid reader. I think any romance fan would enjoy Jilted. Afterall, it's not about her leaving him at the alter but why she left. Wanting to know the reason behind her runaway bride act will keep you turning pages.

Rachael
Johns is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a supermarket owner, a
chronic arachnophobic, and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and
never irons. She writes contemporary romance for HQN and Carina Press and lives
in rural Western Australia with her hyperactive husband and three
mostly-gorgeous heroes-in-training. Rachael loves to hear from readers and can
be contacted through her website at www.rachaeljohns.com.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Matthew “Val” Taylor, the Road Captain in the club, was introduced to sex at an early age. Saved from the streets by the club’s Enforcer and President years ago, Val now lives for women and the open road. Until the night the only woman he’s ever loved is almost killed. Val determines to change his ways and be the man Zoann Donovan should have and the father their son deserves.

Zoann has loved Val for a long time. Violence and bitter betrayal forces her to ignore her feelings and distance herself not only from the sexy RC, but her beloved brother, too. Until she discovers the truth. Can Zoann ever be forgiven for all the pain she’s caused? Will Val overcome his own demons and have a future with her and their son? Who will survive in an MC filled with lust and revenge, love and hate?

Warning: This is a tale of rape, murders, deception, heartache, lies, and infidelity. The road to redemption is a tumultuous struggle where only the strong survive and justice is served…Outlaw-style.

Kathryn Kelly is living her dream and writing books.
Everyone who follows Kat on Facebook is well aware of her relationship with her
mother. For those of you who are unaware, the following will offer you a taste.
To live in peace, Kat acknowledges she is a mom, but prefers to keep her
personal life private. In spite of her momma. Kat has always been an avid
reader and still devours books in her spare time. She also enjoys football,
socializing, music, eating, and jokes. In her head, she's the ultimate biker
babe. In reality, she's an ordinary girl-next-door and a native New Orleanian.

Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single My Daylight Monsters. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

My Review:

What a refreshing young adult novel. I enjoyed it. Mary has been seeing distburing Things for years. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of talking about them. She ends up in a physictraric ward. You would think that was bad enough but she nearly gets killed by a physico doctor.

Trying to force a bit of normalcy her parents decided to take a holiday (vacation for us Americans) to the middle of nowhere. Turns out that the middle if nowhere happens to be haunted.

Mary is a symphatic character. She is isolated because f what she can seedmade more complicated sinced her best friend is now a ghost. She is a strong female lead who takes hold of her sitatution without much of that 'woe is me where is my knight in shining armor to save me'. By the middle if the book I was hoping that she would take on her ghost whisperer role.

Lacey is the ghost friend. You feel for her because of the reason of how she became a ghost. Thiugh the two of them strike a deal, I have to say that I don't agree. Eventually in book 2 or 3, if there's a book 3, that agreement will have to be addressed. I guessing that when it get to that point it's going to be a big nasty hurtful deal.

Seth is the love interest but I'm glad that he was also part of the main plot other that a romantic love interest. The two friends she made Neil and Lemarr, who I'm thinking may make appearances in at least book 2, was hope to her that she doesn't have to go through seeing ghostly things alone.

Should you read it? Yes. Whiu should read it? Fans if Y.A. novels with the a paranormal twist.

Sarah grew up in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Derbyshire and as a result has an over-active imagination. She has been an avid reader for most of her life, taking inspiration from the stories she read as a child, and the novels she devoured as an adult.

Sarah mainly writes speculative fiction for a Young Adult audience and has had pieces of short fiction published in the Medulla Literary Review, PANK magazine and the British Fantasy Society publication Dark Horizons. Her short story 'Vampires Wear Chanel' is featured in the Wyvern Publication Fangtales available here:

Sarah's debut novel The Blemished is a fast paced young adult dystopia set in a fractured Britain. It follows the events of Mina Hart, a young Blemished girl who has a dangerous secret, as she tries to escape the dreaded Operation and get out of Area 14.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
Disappointment has been on speed dial in Ellen Grayson's life lately. Her dad's dead, her mom is numbing the grief with drugs and alcohol, and her so-called friends are slowly abandoning her. Trusting a popular teacher with her troubles should have been safe, shouldn't have led to an unwelcome seduction attempt, shouldn't have sent her running to the girls' bathroom for the final moments of her Junior year. Lesson learned. Best to keep all the sordid details of her life to herself.

Enter Rex Jacobi, a cocky teen recently transplanted from New York and fellow summer camp employee. Though his quick wit and confidence draws her in, she's not letting him get too close, not til she's sure she can trust him. By the time Rex's charming persistence wears down her resistance, it's too late. He's put Ellen on the perma-pal shelf and shifted his romantic attentions to her arch-rival. Even worse, the teacher who tried to seduce her is still misbehaving with impunity. With her ability to trust as shaky as a chastity vow on prom night, Ellen must decide if she has enough remaining courage to speak up about her teacher and risk retribution, to tell Rex how she feels and risk heartbreak, or hold all her secrets inside, the only safe place she knows.

My Review:
Different than your regular young adult novel. Ellen is un aware of how others see her. She spends a lot of time trying not to be seen. The big t-shirts and jeans don't work. Males turn her way even though she don't see them watching. Unfortunately, she was kissed by one of her high school teachers. When said teacher is seen doing much more to her friend she speaks up. Since the teacher is popular and a girl who has a grudge against her has told other she is lying she ends up enduring the cruelty of teen bullying. Meanwhile, she is dealing with her feeling with the hot New York transfer student Rex. It's just a great story.

Should you read it? Yes. Who should read it? Fans of y.a. who are long for something with a little more bite to it.

About the Author
Iris St. Clair is the pen name for a long-suffering cubicle worker by day, a Walter Mitty-like dreamer by night. (Her alter ego Tatiana Ivanadance also choreographs gravity-defying routines in those fantasies, but that's another bio.)
No matter what genre she writes, she prefers witty, insecure heroines and kind, persistent heroes able to break through to the gooey heart inside.
In high school she was voted most likely to win at Monopoly and Clue, but least likely to throw a ball anywhere near a target. Thank goodness writing requires less hand-eye coordination, punctuation errors notwithstanding.

Iris believes in the two-year "fish or cut bait" dating rule and has a 20+ year marriage and two teenaged sons as proof of concept. She lives, writes, dreams and dances in the rainy Portland, OR area.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Cast out by the Gods thousands of years ago, he roams the earth working as an assassin for The Sicarii, a secret society that protects humans from all the things that go bump in the night.

Long ago, Thorne made the mistake of falling in love with a human, and her death stripped him bare. Destined to live a life of solitude. One night stands are his way of life—until he meets a mysterious woman whose intriguing power compels him to uncover more about her and the strange magic she wields.

My Review: This is a short teaser. We are introduced to Throne. Thorne is a demigod who has been cursed to stay in earth. He has been working as a hitman for a secret organization called The Scarii. The real story however, is who is the latest woman he has slept with. All he has to go on is her name is Katy and she is a shapshifter. He has a connection to her but is thrown for a loop when he wakes up to find her in the form of his late wife. Oh and there's a cat that has latched on to him.
I liked this story. He is not a character that you automatically fall for. The story did manage to get me interested. I would like to know what's the deal with the cat? Who is Kacy and why was she in the form of his late wife? Wshy was Kacy so recluctant to give him her name.
Should you read it? Sure. Who should read it? Fans of romance. Understand that this is not a full novel. It is around 47-48 pages so you will have to read the next book to hopefully get answers.

A.J. Bennett lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and bulldog. She's addicted to coffee, popcorn and books. Becoming an author has been a lifelong dream, and she's extremely excited about her debut novel Now or Never.

Five years later, Nina has a new home, a new boyfriend and a new life. Yet, still haunted by the ghosts of her past, Nina finds she must return to Palace Hills to put an end to a nightmare, which has haunted her for years.

Upon her return, one vital slip in judgement threatens to bring the life she had worked so hard to build to come crashing down.

Thanks to her Mom's unwavering devotion to read a bedtime story to her every single night throughout her childhood years, S. BRIONES LIM's love for books began before she could even speak. Author of the Life Force Trilogy, S. Briones Lim's other obsessions include time with family, POPCORN, sketching, movies and her pug, Tobi. She currently lives on the East Coast with her husband and continues to write everyday.

Meet Nina Sharman. A newly turned 18-year-old caught in the throes of a new neighborhood and a new love interest. Though Nina had been raised in the upscale city of Goldendale all her life, she is no force to be reckoned with nor is she spoiled or uptight. On any given day you can find her wearing a simple tank, shorts and flip flops accessorized with a pocket knife.

Meet Conner Hale. Ruggedly handsome with a tough exterior, but teddy bear interior. He’s a lover and only cares about one thing – Nina. He’s a casual guy who loves basketball. Heck, that’s how he and Nina first met!

Meet Finley Conrad. He’s the guy you hope to meet in college. Intelligent, sweet, funny, caring and genuine – you’d never be able to tell he grew up in a stuffy rich family. Unless of course you take into account his everyday wear.

*If you would like to support this blog consider purchasing your books through the links provided. Thanks for stopping by, comment, share, and Happy Reading!
**The fashion links are not affiliated with this site. They were provided by the blog tour & the book's author.

About Me

Born in the South, lived in the Northeast, and now living back in the South has created this diversity of culture and interests in me. I love creativity and it shows. I am friendly so leave comments, suggestions, and/or tips.

Upcoming Tours

*

.

FTC

LinkShare

Kobo Inc.

Alibris

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

iTunes

*Please note clicking book covers and text links will send you to one of the above websites. I get a small percentage if you make a purchase from any of the websites mentioned above. However, this in no way influence my book reviews. If I like a book it's because I like it and the same is true if I dislike it.

- Many books on here have been received as an ARC.

**This blog uses third party links. This blog and/or the third party links may use cookies. By clicking any links you acknowledge that you have been informed about the potential use of cookies.